In the early 1900s, researchers at the Harvard College Observatory conducted an astonishing amount of astronomical research. A handful of women were integral to this research. Describes the professional lives and scientific findings of five of these women scientists at Harvard to inspire students. Classroom activities are included. (PVD)

The great American ballerina, Maria Tallchief, was born in 1925 in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Her mother was White and her father was a full-blood Osage. Her younger sister, Marjorie, also became a famous dancer. The Osage originally lived in western Missouri. They lived in lodges or tepees and were farmers and hunters. The U.S. Government moved them to…

All 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution in September 1787, but the 40th signature, that of William Jackson, the Secretary of the Convention, authenticated the results of the session in Philadelphia. This booklet on Jackson is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who signed the U.S. Constitution, and…

Alexander Hamilton was among the most intellectually gifted of the Founding Fathers and a brilliant political theorist, but he lacked practical political experience, and his major political contributions occurred only when his specific policies were adopted and carried forward by others with broader vision. This booklet on Hamilton is one in a…

David Brearly was a student of the Enlightenment philosophers and English jurists who taught that a contract existed between the individual and the state, and this exposure influenced him as a framer of the Constitution, with its careful definitions of the obligations of government and the rights of citizens. This booklet on Brearly is one in a…

Described is the education of an individual who was born in a remote village in the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. It tells how a young boy progressed from a village, where the language spoken did not have names for numbers, to the position of tutor in mathematics at a university. The story is felt to resemble many others in the rapidly…

This paper provides a history and analysis of the career of black historian and educator John Hope Franklin. Franklin's early educational experiences are described and discussed in relation to the overall black educational situation in the 1930s. Also discussed are Franklin's books and his ideas and activities in the areas of civil rights. (APM)

Interview with Alice Childress (born 1920), an actress, playwright, novelist, editor, and lecturer. Her "Gold through the Forest" (1952) was the first play by a Black woman to be produced professionally on the American stage. Her latest play, "Moms," was produced in New York City in 1987. (BJV)

Historians of American music education have yet to recognize a Black music educator as important and worthy of observation. This article discusses a candidate--Major Nathaniel Clark Smith, a little-known Black music educator, composer of more than a hundred works, businessman, humanitarian, and teacher of numerous big-name jazz musicians. (RM)

This biography presents the life of John Andrew Rice, who founded Black Mountain College (North Carolina) in 1933 to implement his philosophy of education, including the centrality of artistic experience and emotional development to learning in all disciplines and the need for democratic governance shared between faculty and students. Born in…

This volume provides an extensive and detailed inter-linking account of George Peabody's life. Annotated topic headings, which include people, places, events and institutions, are organized alphabetically and comprise the bulk of the document. Each entry describes the salient points of contact between George Peabody and the given topic, as well as…

This paper discusses the life and accomplishments of Harriet Quimby, a Michigan woman who was an aviation pioneer (the first licensed woman pilot in 1911) and yet who is largely unknown. The paper appears in conjunction with a biography of Quimby aimed at intermediate students. The paper gives a dramatic account of Quimby's flight across the…

Nettels' text, "The Roots of an American Civilization: A History of American Colonial Life," published in 1938, has enjoyed the widest sales of any text ever written on the colonial period. Never losing his concern for economic development, Nettels' interests in the 1940s and 1950s shifted to the American Revolution. (RM)

The works of Hilda Taba, known for her leadership of the social studies curriculum project and for her teaching strategies designed to promote different types of thinking in children, are presented. The Taba Social Science Program represents the culmination, in practice and curriculum materials, of Taba's professional life and thought. (PN)

The author describes the evolution of the American musical since 1750 and emphasizes the often overlooked importance of the orchestrator. She discusses the talents of several extraordinarily gifted musicians. (KC)